³ For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Why do you prophesy, and say, Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

² Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, Go, and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:

³ and you shall not escape out of his hand, but shall surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with you mouth to mouth, and you shall go to Babylon.

⁴ Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans who besiege you, without the walls; and I will gather them into the midst of this city.

⁵ I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation.

⁶ I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and animal: they shall die of a great pestilence.

⁷ Afterward, says Yahweh, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, even such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life: and he shall strike them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.

⁸ It happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that Yahweh had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him, saying, You shall surely die.

⁹ Why have you prophesied in the name of Yahweh, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant? All the people were gathered to Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh.

²⁸ Therefore thus says Yahweh: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:

²⁹ and the Chaldeans, who fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink-offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.

¹² They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and came against him and seized him, and brought him in to the council,

¹³ and set up false witnesses who said, "This man never stops speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the law.

¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us."

² They asked him, "Tell us: by what authority do you do these things? Or who is giving you this authority?"

¹³ but don't prophesy again any more at Bethel; for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house!"

⁸ Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spoke to the king, saying,

⁴ Then the princes said to the king, Let this man, we pray you, be put to death; because he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man doesn't seek the welfare of this people, but the hurt.

⁶ Then came the word of Yahweh to the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

⁷ Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, Thus shall you tell the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.

⁸ The Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire.

⁹ Thus says Yahweh, Don't deceive yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us; for they shall not depart.

¹⁰ For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yes would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

⁸ It shall happen, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, says Yahweh, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

³ O Yahweh, don't your eyes look on truth? you have stricken them, but they were not grieved; you have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

³⁰ In vain have I struck your children; they received no correction: your own sword has devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

²² In the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against Yahweh, this same king Ahaz.

³¹ Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.

³² But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and [the king] sent a man from before him: but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See you how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? behold, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him: isn't the sound of his master's feet behind him?

⁴ The king of Egypt said to them, "Why do you, Moses and Aaron, take the people from their work? Get back to your burdens!"